Well it looks like the big event is over, as is one of the most legendary careers in all of sports. After having a little over a week to reflect on it, it is now time to look back at the big event. It had some pretty lofty expectations, coudl it deliver? Was Travis able to defeat Glen once again in their battle of predictions? Will I keep asking questiosn that I very clearly know the answer to? Only one way to find out…
Tag Team Title Match
The Big Show and Miz (c) vs. John Morison and R-Truth
Well score one for me about the match order! I thought that this would go first, but I also thought that it would be a good match. .500 ain’t too bad I suppose. I can’t believe that a big match featuring the companies two most promising stars at the biggest stage of them all got such little time. I did like the end sequence, but damn, there could have been more there. I really hope that they get an extended feud out of this, or it’s a total waste of time.
Prediction: Both GG and TT start off well, making the score 1-1.
Randy Orton vs. Ted Dibiase vs. Cody Rhodes
Well color me shocked at this match going so early in the show. The structure of the match was pretty obvious with the two younger members ganging up on Orton, only to have them start to fight, giving Randy a chance to capitalize. I really enjoyed some parts of this, like the double-DDT, the punt, and the attempts of both Rhodes and Dibiase to steal victories. However, I think that the heat segment was a bit too long, as the match sort of dragged in the middle. Still though, Orton’s comeback (and the crowd reaction) was preatty damn good. I’m not really sure where this leads both Ted and Cody, they can certainly move one to Smackdown, but I’m not realyl sure waht will happen after that.
Predictions: Both the Heels said that the anti-face would win and were right. Their score stays tied at 2-2.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Christian vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Shelton Benjamin vs.
Kane vs. MVP vs. Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy vs.
Evan Bourne vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston
Alright, so who the hell saw this coming? I had thought that the WWE’s inital thoughts on Swagger’s were waning a bit in favour of the likes of McIntyre and Sheamus, but how wrong I was! Swagger’s win was a genuine shock, especially since everyone and their mother had Kingston, McIntyre, or Christian as the most likely candidates. I liked the finishing bit of Swagger using the briefcase as a weapon on Christian, and I did laugh when he struggled so much to unhook the case. Other than that, this was a bit bland by MITB standards. Other than the Air Borune off the ladder, and Carny-Kingston using stilts, there wasn’t much else that I remember a week later. This match proved to me that 10 people are way too many for this match, and I hope that the Summer PPV will have it go down to 8 people, which seems about right.
Predictions: Both men were not-surprisingly incorrrect, leaving the score at 2-2.
Triple H vs. Sheamus
Chalk me up to the crowd of people that enjoyed this match, despite low expectations. I thought that this would be the worst match on the card (note: the women’s match wasn’t announced at the time, so I didn’t count it…) but these two had a fun power-match that told a good story. I liked Triple H playing possum at the end to get the win, those endings are always fun. I am glad that this feud continues, and I really hope that Sheamus gets a big win at Extreme Rules, to set up a rubber match later.
Prediction: GG takes the lead!!! Given how similar the rest of their predictions are, it may just be commanding at this point. 3-2 for the Gorgeous One.
Street Fight
CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
After the last match exceeded expecations, this one really faield to achieve them, and it’s hardly the fault of any of the performers involved. I felt that Rey, Punk, Serena, and Gallows all played their role very well, but they were barely given 6 minutes to tell their story. For such a personal Blood Feud on such a big stage, that is pretty inexcusable. Still though, these two gave about as good of a match as two people can have in such short time. I would have lvoed to have seen Punk win, but I guess it wasn’t in the cards.
Predictions: Colour both of us shocked and saddened that the best heel in the business right now didn’t do our alignment proud. GG still leads 3-2.
No Holds Barred Match
Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon
Wow, was this ever terrible. I mean, I certainly wasn’t expecting a five-star classic, but…wow. The initial Hart turn didn’t really make any sense, and would have been better suited if it had have been addressed before. Also if I wanted to watch two broken down old men punch each other for 11 minutes I’d watch TNA. I’m glad that this story is finally over and we can all move on abit, but this match could have ended way earlier and been more effective.
Predictions: What a shock, we both said that Bret would win. GG leads 4-3, with the clock running out.
World Heavyweight Title Match
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Edge
I knew that this match would be good, and damn if I wasn’t suitably impressed. These two gave a great showing. It suffered a bit from a lack of crowd reaction due to the previous match, but it was still a lot of fun. Jericho wrestled a near perfect amtch fro ma heels perspective, and Edge gave one of the best face-performances of his career (note: I still don’t like Face Edge, but he grew on me a bit with this one). One of the few regrets for me is that Jericho did not hit the Spear like he as going to. I wish that he had have followed up the belt shot with a Spear to get the win. I also liked the Spear through the barricade at the end, I actually thought that Jericho was hurt there. I’m interested in seeing if these two continue to feud one-on-one, or if they have a Triple Threat with Swagger now. I’m really hoping for the later.
Predictions: Both men thought that the Rumble Winner would choke for the third year in a row and they were most certainly correct. GG is up 5-4.
10-Diva Tag Match
Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Mickie James and Eve
vs.
Vickie Guerrero, Alicia Fox, Maryse, Michelle McCool and Layla
Terrible match and a big waste of time. Although I did laugh a lot at Vickie’s wrestling attire and her Frog Splash.
WWE Title Match
Batista (c) vs. John Cena
Damn, was this ever a good match. Sure it didn’t have the Era-Defining vibe that they were going for, but that was probably because we all knew what was coming next. These two had a really good match, that featured some great spots. I really enjoyed the Military Entrance from Cena, and I wish that we had more pomp and circumstance for the wrestlers coming down to the ring. But this match was pretty good, and as I said in the previews, it shows how far both men have come in five years to be able to stand on thier own like that. I hope that they draw out the rematch between these two until Summerslam at the earliest to make it more special.
Predictions: Both were right once more, GG is up 6-5
Streak vs. Career
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
Wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW!!!! This match was something incredibly special. These two went out and told a fantastic story. I know it may not be as technically great as their match last yaer, but it carried so much more emotion. I also love the subtle references to matches in the past like the Tombstone on the floor (from Wrestlemania VIII), and the moonsault on the table (from XXIV) and so on. This match was fantastic, and I absolutely loved the ending with HBK crawling up, and slapping Taker one last time. “Defiant until the end”. Is there anyway to describe the career of Shawn Michaels? As lame as this may sound, this may be the closest to poetry we’ll ever see inside a wrestling ring.
Predictions: GG WINS!!! GG WINS!!!!! 7-6 for the Gorgeous One!!!!!! HOORAH!!!
In summary, like all Mania’s this oen certainly had its ups and downs. Both World Title Matches delivered, the MITB was watchable, Punk-Rey was good for the time, Triple H-Sheamus was a lot of fun, and of course HBK-Taker was worth $60 on its own. I’m not 100% sure as to where this card would rank on the list of all-time Mania’s, but I think it would be pretty high. This is probably the best one in the past 3 years, and is probably pretty close to Wrestlemania 23. All in all, well worth a viewing, especially the last match.
Until next time,
G
You and Triple H have screwed me for the last time! What about our non-match predictions? I want a recount.
Nice commentary on the card. The last match was truly one of the all-time greats.
Something you didn’t touch (unless I missed it) was the horrendous commentary throughout the evening. I think the current announce teams are the absolute worst in recent history. They seem to have no plan to replace the great mic men that we’ve seen leave the booth over the past few years, such as JBL, Foley, JR. It’s hard to really get into a mediocre match up if the announce team doesn’t do their part selling the in-ring action. The problem is surprisingly getting worse, and without retiring stars that are solid on the mic to take on this role, the era of lackluster shows will continue.
PPV’s just don’t have that same spectacle about them anymore, as you pointed out with the reference to the ring intros. Hopefully something will change things up before the next Mania.
Good point about the commentary. I had forgotten to mention it, and I am fully with you on this one. Striker was excellent when he first started, but he has been getting worse it seems. Lawler is past his due date, and Cole never really had one to begin with. The last time I remember commentary being this bad was during the Main Event of Wrestlemania XXIV. Coach and Cole damn near ruined the amazing Taker-Edge match. I think that there is some good promise in the future, including your friend Josh Matthews. After that though, I’m starting to run out of options, there are a few good legends that could be used like Ted Dibiase, or even HBK. Or I guess we can just hope that Jericho retires soon to give us his awesome commentary.
My biggest concern: Abraham Washington on commentary.